


Run it Back

by PSIness11



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Family, Fights, Friendship, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:08:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28777296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PSIness11/pseuds/PSIness11
Summary: A second chance at life, abilities that defy physics, and a fantastical world of magic sounds pretty good at first. Until you realize that you’ve essentially gone skydiving without a parachute and been thrown to the wolves. Only option is to hit the ground running and not look back. (Rewrite of Speeding Through Life)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Run it Back

Sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees, setting the forest floor aglow as the morning dew glistened. Chirping filled the silence, signaling the start of the day for many of the forest residents. Animals began to emerge from the brush in search of food, the undergrowth quickly coming alive with a buzz of activity.  
  
A large bird with lime plumage set down near the bank of a stream, quickly joined by its flock. Light blue turtles with red shells and mohawks swam ashore, bathing in the morning sun.  
  
As far as the eye could see, fantastical, _impossible_ creatures emerged from the brush, the forest becoming a near kaleidoscope of colors. Each new beast was different from the last, and there could be no better descriptor for any of them than ‘fairytale’.  
  
And it was only a few meters from that scene that I, the strangest beast of all, awoke.  
  
  


-x-x-x-

  
  
  
  
My first instinct was to assume it was all a dream. After all, there was no way that anything in my vision could be real. Sure it was all a bit beyond what my dreams were normally like, but I dreamed a lot and I might just be having a weird night.  
  
But as the minutes ticked by, a realization began to dawn on me. The colors were too defined, distinct and clear. The feeling of grass beneath my hands, the crisp morning air that filled my lungs, the smell of the forest. Everything was too _real_ for it to be a dream, too complete; all of my senses felt just like they did normally, if not sharper.  
  
It was nothing like a dream.  
  
A sinking feeling began to settle in my stomach as I pinched myself, hoping to wake up in my room. When the pain didn’t bring about the change of scenery I wanted, panic began to set in as well.  
  
I lurched forward, a spike of pain going through my head as memories flashed in my mind's eyes. Visions of a late night drive back from college. I was dead tired after finals week, finishing that afternoon and having to pack to go home for the break. My eyes slowly began to close as the music from the radio played calmly in the background.  
  
A brief lapse of consciousness. Than a blinding light and the scream of a horn jolting me awake just in time to see the headlights of another car in front of me.  
  
A flash of burning pain, and then nothing.  
  
The scene played on loop in my head as I rubbed my eyes raw, praying that the sight before me was nothing but a dream turned nightmare. Nothing I did made it go away, as I began to accept the reality around me.  
  
I had died.  
  
_‘Where the hell am I? Is this what it’s like after you die? Oh god what about my parents? My friends?’_  
  
The realization set in along with a deep sense of dread. The insane world around me became muted and dull, as thought after thought raced through my mind. I felt hot tears start to run down my face, the forest around me becoming blurry as I cried. Feelings of anger, grief, and horror rose and fell as I tried and failed to process the absurd situation I had been thrown into.  
  
I didn’t move from the spot I found myself in for a long time.  
  
  


-x-x-x-

  
  
  
  
It took a few hours, but eventually I was able to force down all of the emotions swirling through my head. Survival instincts had switched my focus to figuring out exactly where the hell I was, and how I was going to get out of here.  
  
Standing up, I brushed my clothes off and took a quick inventory of what I had on me. Unfortunately all I had were the clothes on my back. A white t-shirt, my black track pants, sneakers, my watch...I took some comfort in the fact that I was still wearing my favorite hoodie.  
  
Looking around didn’t yield any handy hints or landmarks, but without all the distractions on my attention I could hear the sound of running water nearby.  
  
Taking a look around, the area I woke up in must have been near a stream as I heard the sound of running water nearby.  
  
“Alright, might be able to follow it out of the forest,” I mused out loud, heading off towards the sound. “God I hope I don’t have to Bear Grylls my way out of this.”  
  
I wasn’t too comfortable with being forced to survive in a forest with whatever I happened to remember from survival TV shows and late night Youtube.  
  
Emerging from the trees into a cleared area where the stream revealed itself, I quickly noticed that I wasn’t alone. Several animals unlike anything I had ever seen were gathered on the bank, taking drinks. Colors that had no place being on an animal were on display for all to see. Light blue turtles with hair, an animal that looked like a cross between a stegosaurus and a pig that was fucking pink with spines of every color in the rainbow...  
  
I viciously rubbed my eyes, hardly believing what I was seeing in front of me. I briefly entertained the idea that I had taken something I shouldn’t, and was currently tripping balls; sure the forest before had been fairly mundane, but maybe they had just taken a while to really kick in?  
  
Unfortunately, my vision cleared to reveal the same sight, and that little ember of hope flickered away.  
  
As I got closer, they looked up at me with curiosity, instead of running away. The birds ignored me after having a good look, going back to drinking, but one of the turtles on the bank actually approached me, looking up with a smile on its face.  
  
_‘We just aren’t gonna worry about how the turtle has a fucking **face** , and a mohawk,’_ I thought, slowly crouching down and extending a hand. _‘It’s like I’ve found myself in a children's coloring book or something.’_ The turtle pushed itself onto my palm, giving me a happy smile as I picked it up and pet it.  
  
“What _are_ you little guy?” I asked, not getting an answer as it leaned into my touch. “You’re a lot more friendly than any turtle I’ve seen before.”  
  
Setting it back down, I glanced around at the assortment of other animals. They seemed to be fine drinking the water, but then again I had no idea how they hell they were built. That said, the water seemed clear enough to me and I felt dehydrated after letting out a lot of those emotions.  
  
So I took a drink, greedly gulping down as much as I could fit in my hands at a time. The cool water refreshed me, chasing away the headache that had just started to form. Letting out a sigh, I sat down on the bank content to just rest for a moment. The animals seemed equally content to just leave me be, and I was fine with that. They weren’t even paying me any mind other than the occasional glance.  
  
The only thing actually staring at me was my own—  
  
_‘—reflection?’_  
  
It _was_ me. That, at least, I was sure of. The familiar sight of shaggy blond hair, blue eyes and scruffy facial hair greeted me from the stream. But it was _different,_ more defined. Hell I didn’t even have a blemish on my face, and I _know_ that finals week had caused me to break out a bit.  
  
As a matter of fact, I felt a lot different too. I took off my hoodie, tossing it to the wayside as I hardly believed what I was seeing. The tall and scrawny body that typically greeted me in the bathroom mirror had been replaced with one that didn't look out of place on an anime character. My formerly skinny arms had actual muscle, my shoulders were broader, and I was actually stretching the shirt that not a day ago was loose on me. In disbelief, I lifted it up to find that I actually had abs, something that I’d _never_ had in my entire life.  
  
“What the hell happened to me?” I lowered my shirt, looking down at myself half expecting to see something different. “Waking up in a forest, all these cartoon animals, and to top it all off I’m in my dream body?”  
  
I pinched myself again, hard enough to draw blood this time. When that didn’t work I dunked my head in the stream, almost hoping that I’d find myself in some place that actually made sense.  
  
No such luck, all I got was wet hair and now my arm hurt something fierce.  
  
_‘God I must have actually survived that accident, and now I’m in a coma on some serious painkillers,’_ I thought, still staring at my own reflection. _‘That’s the only reasonable explanation for any of this sh—’_  
  
My train of thought came to a screeching halt as I noticed something. The banks of the stream that had once been populated with animals were vacant. Not a single beast was to be found, even the turtles had gone back into the water.  
  
I felt my heart pound in my chest as bits and pieces of knowledge flashed through my mind. I wasn’t a big fan of the great outdoors, but I had been on more than a few hiking and camping trips. There’s one thing about forests that you notice even when just camping for one night.  
  
A forest is _never_ silent.  
  
There’s always a buzz of activity, whether that be insects or small animals. It’s an environment that supports a huge variety of creatures, and they _all_ make noise. Even if it’s relatively quiet you can still hear _something_.  
  
But there’s one exception to this rule.  
  
In a mad dash I ran away from the stream, nearly tripping over my own feet. Racing towards the nearest tree I could find, I leapt up and grabbed a hold of a low hanging branch. Hoisting myself up I scrambled as high as the branches would let me, practically shoving myself into the densest part of the leaves I could find.  
  
The only time a forest gets silent, is when something _big and dangerous_ is nearby. And considering the creatures I had seen already, I did _not_ want to meet whatever caused them to run away.  
  
My heartbeat pounded like a drum in my ears as my fears were confirmed. _Something_ was pushing its way through the brush towards the stream. Even as high up as I was, I could _feel_ the heavy thumps of footsteps, growing ever closer and ever louder. I felt some small relief from being on the opposite bank to whatever was approaching; not that it’d actually stop something that wanted to get across, but I’d take what I could get.  
  
Seconds ticked by like minutes, the heavy footfalls and my own drumming heartbeat drowning out my thoughts. Even if it was far away, I didn’t dare take a breath. My eyes were glued to the treeline, sweat pouring down my face. Never before had I been in a situation like this and instincts had taken over.  
  
A gap formed in the treeline as it emerged. An arm thicker than my entire torso reached out, pushing a whole tree to the side to make way for its enormous bulk. Green fur covered the majority of its form, only fading into thick purple skin around its hands, feet, and face. Each arm was easily twice as long as I was tall, adorned with patches of _pink_ fur in the shape of hearts from the shoulders to the wrists. Its abdomen was bare, showing off muscles that put anything I had seen before to shame. The face was a sight to behold, a long chin reaching down to the tip of its chest, an expression set into a frown as it exhaled. Black pupils stared out across the stream, as it examined the surroundings.  
  
It was like if you took a gorilla, doubled its height, and fed it nothing but protein and food coloring for years.  
  
And somehow, I _recognized_ it.  
  
It had been years since I saw it, but it was unmistakable. Taken straight out of one of the first anime that I had watched, I wouldn’t have believed it if I wasn’t looking at it with my own two eyes. A name was dragged up from my memory, and the implications of it assaulted my mind enough to snap out of my panic.  
  
A Vulcan. A forest Vulcan straight out of Fairy Tail.  
  
Though that may have been a poor choice of words, because I was the one out of place here.  
  
_‘Holy shit, is that where I am? Fairy Tail? Or would Fiore be more accurate? Wait, how the hell am I even here!’_ Thoughts raced through my head, as panic once more returned. _‘This has to be a coma-induced dream right? But it’s so real! This isn’t happening, I did not get fucking isekai’d into Fairy Tail!’_  
  
As much as my mind tried to deny it, to come up with some rational explanation for it all, I couldn’t. Even as all my thoughts screamed that this was impossible, my five senses didn’t lie. There was too much detail, things were undoubtedly _real_ and nothing like any dream or coma experience I had ever had or read about.  
  
My grip on the branches tightened as reality set in. The Vulcan was why everything had fled, and for good reason. Even if they were taken as a nuisance by protagonists in the show, and a challenge that a younger Natsu had to overcome, they were _dangerous_. Those hands could easily hold my entire torso with room to spare, and the idea of their natural possession magic had my stomach churning.  
  
Thankfully, the Vulcan seemed content to drink from the stream, taking gulps of water from cupped hands that held more water than a full kiddie pool.  
  
_‘Ok, big fella is just thirsty,’_ I thought, forcing down my panicked breathing, taking in slow, deep pulls of air as quietly as I could. _‘Gonna wait till it has its fill, then book it the opposite way from wherever the hell it goes.’_  
  
Even hunched over the Vulcan easily topped three meters tall, but despite that it finished drinking pretty quickly. It lumbered around for a bit afterward, inspecting the banks. I assumed it was looking for something to eat, maybe even going after one of the turtles. But when something caught its eye, all of my barely suppressed panic roared back to life. It stepped across the banks, clearing it in barely two strides. Both its eyes and mine had locked onto the same thing.  
  
My hoodie. The one I had left forgotten on the bank.  
  
Curiously, the Vulcan picked it up. In its gigantic hands, the once oversized hoodie looked like a washcloth. It brought it to its face, taking a few sniffs. Then it turned its head to the sky, taking big whiffs as it looked around.  
  
_‘Oh god, it's got my scent.’_ I could practically hear a hammer nailing my coffin shut. _‘I need to run. Can I? It’s big but it might not be fast. Oh fuck it is though, one of those managed to fucking dodge Natsu for a bit.’_  
  
Fear gripped my heart as the Vulcan locked eyes on the tree I was in and a cruel smile spread across its face. Its pupils disappeared into blank wild eyes, swimming with an intelligence that didn’t belong to an animal.  
  
**“GRAAH!”** it yelled in a wild and wordless roar, charging towards the tree with its arm cocked back. It cleared more ground than anything that size had any right to, already at the tree trunk when I started to move.  
  
Adrenaline flooded my system as I tried to fling myself from the tree, just as the Vulcan’s arm crashed into it. The lariat _crushed_ the trunk, wood bending around its forearm as splinters went in all directions. The impact flung me from the tree, the world spinning as I fell.  
  
The wind was knocked out of me as I slammed into the ground, but it didn’t feel like anything broke. Gasping for air, I whipped around to see the Vulcan wrench its arm from the indentation in the tree. My former hiding place toppled over, unable to support its weight after being bent at the middle.  
  
If it could do that to a tree _casually_...  
  
It turned towards me, the same toothy grin on its face. Now that I was closer, the Vulcan towered over me, three times my size at _least_.  
  
A huge hand dug into the ground in front of it, the tree-like limb propelling its bulk forward as it raised its other fist.  
  
Time seemed to slow down as the giant fist came down at me. More adrenaline than I had ever felt before was flooding into my veins, I didn’t even feel the pain from the fall. The handful of seconds I had before I was crushed ticked by like hours as the fist got closer and closer.  
  
A lot of things ran through my mind right then. But first and foremost among them was, _‘I’m not going out like this!’_  
  
An unfamiliar sensation came roaring to life within me at that one overwhelming thought. It felt as if a foregon energy had started to flood me, accompanied with an overwhelming desire to _live_. As the fist was less than a meter from impact, I threw every ounce of willpower I had left into that feeling with one command.  
  
**Move.**  
  
My body exploded into motion. Both legs kicked out, finding purchase on the ground, throwing me out of the way just as the Vulcan’s fist crushed the ground where I was an instant before.  
  
Like a switch had been flicked, the feeling of energy throughout my body became constant. What had been a brief burst had evened out into a constant stream as I soared through the air. There was no way I would have been able to do more than just barely dodge it, but with this energy I was already past the stream and on the opposite bank before the Vulcan had even taken its fist out of the ground.  
  
_‘No, not energy.’_ I twisted into a roll before hitting the ground with instinctive skill that I knew I shouldn’t have, coming up facing the Vulcan. _‘That was Magic.’_  
  
The earth-shattering realization that I had just used actual _magic_ would have to wait though, because the Vulcan sure didn’t. It spat to the side, locking eyes with me, and its cruel smile widened as it planted itself to charge again.  
  
I did _not_ want to stick around for that.  
  
I had no idea about how to even control my newfound magic, or even the extent of what I could do. But it was the one advantage I had at the moment and I’d be damned if I didn’t use it.  
  
The energized feeling returned, accompanied with a pale blue light that surrounded my body and tinted my vision as my eyes widened. It was like I had been experiencing life in a lower setting. Everything was so much _clearer_.  
  
Especially the Vulcan that had already crossed the stream once more, its eyes locked onto me with a sickening expression.  
  
My body flew into motion, blurring out of the Vulcan’s way as it sailed through the space I had just been in. I wasn’t about to fist-fight a giant magical gorilla, even if magic provided an advantage. Instead, I blitzed my way back to the other bank, water kicked up into the air with a _splash_ as my ankles carved trenches through the stream. The Vulcan pivoted back to face me, huffing in frustration.  
  
Then, it _smiled_ in a way that made my stomach drop.  
  
I caught sight of my hoodie sticking out of its clenched fist just before the Vulcan held it up like a trophy, giving the fabric another sniff before pointing its finger at me. A bellowing laugh erupted from its mouth, as it lifted a hand up and waved.  
  
No words were said, but the message was clear as day.  
  
**‘Go ahead and run, I’ll still find you.’**  
  
The pit in my stomach grew even bigger as dread set in. Magic exploded around me as my fight or flight came roaring back, and I was _not_ fighting that thing.  
  
I whipped around to the right, a burst of gravel and dust the only thing I left behind as I made a mad dash upstream. My heartbeat pounded through my head, muting the world around me as I ran.  
  
The only thing louder was the echoing laughter of the monster behind me.  
  
  


-x-x-x-x-x-x-

  
  
  
  
I don’t know how long I ran.  
  
Trees passed me in hazy blurs as I followed the water upstream. I saw flashes of animals along the banks, startling them as I passed. Luckily, there weren’t any other Vulcans to be seen. I think I’d have another mental breakdown if I saw anything even remotely ape-like.  
  
I was moving faster than I ever had before, probably somewhere far above highway speeds. Even through the deafening pounding of my heart in my ears, I marveled at the ease I was able to dodge through the trees. I half expected for my vision to tunnel and to meet my end by splattering against something. But whatever magic I had, it was making my perceptions keep up with my speed. My brain was processing things faster than my train of thought could even keep up with.  
  
I caught sight of a space in the trees up ahead, the forest parting briefly around a small waterfall that fed the stream I had been following. Thankfully the waterfall was situated on less of a cliff and more of a steep hill. One that I was headed straight for. I had seconds before I hit the hill and was either launched off the ramp or flattened against the incline.  
  
Problem was that I didn’t exactly know how to _stop_.  
  
I tried to force the magic down but quickly found that I was severely lacking in any form of real control. It came roaring forth at my command, but I hadn’t exactly turned it _off_ once since unlocking it.  
  
I had to shed momentum another way and I had exactly a second to do it.  
  
I kicked off the ground the instant before I hit the hill, and I went _flying,_ up into the air and sailing over the small waterfall. I half expected to slam headfirst into a tree on the ascent, but the clearing widened as I flew.  
  
A huge expanse of open space greeted me, one I couldn’t have seen from below the waterfall. The stream was fed by a lake that spread out below me. Reflections of trees circled the rocky banks of the water, creating a giant mirror of the afternoon sky. Various animals drank from the water, several looking up in surprise as I soared over.  
  
It was beautiful. For a split second my mind didn’t process anything else but the view spread out before me. The stranglehold I had on my magic faded, and for the first time in what felt like hours the world lost its blue tint. The glow faded from around my form, the energy settling into one place. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but it resided in my torso I knew for sure.  
  
And then reality slapped me in the face harder than a whip.  
  
The state of enhanced perception had faded along with my magic, as well as my momentum. No longer was I stuck in my own head admiring the sight as I soared through the air.  
  
I was plummeting towards the lake, flailing in the air as the world turned into a blur.  
  
“OH FU—”  
  
My shout was cut off as I crashed into the surface, hot pain shooting through my body as the water broke my fall. I force my mouth to stay closed, pushing through the pain as I reoriented myself. I swam upwards, lungs burning more from running than lack of oxygen.  
  
I broke the surface with a gasp, greedily sucking down air. Now that I was more calm, it felt like I had just run a marathon, and I might actually _have_ with how long I was following the stream.  
  
Taking a quick glance around as I swam to shore, I noticed that most of the animals had fled from the banks, leaving me alone.  
  
_‘You know, I would too if some dude came barreling into the clearing screaming his head off and diving into a lake.’_ The thought brought a smile to my face. _‘Now how the hell am I going to dry my only set of clothes?’_  
  
  


-x-x-x-

  
  
  
  
It was quickly apparent that wet clothes were the least of my worries.  
  
Now that I had put significant distance between myself and the Vulcan, I had calmed down. The sense of panic and fear had faded along with most of the swirling mess of emotions in my head. I knew later down the line I’d have to face those emotions, but now wasn’t the time.  
  
I was on a ticking clock at the moment. The only way I’d ever face that particular mess was surviving the here and now.  
  
Self-preservation instinct had taken over, accepting the fact I was in a fucking anime world could wait. Everything I knew about Fairy Tail would be the key to seeing another day, another week, another year.  
  
Hours of re-watching seasons on Netflix, seeking out more online, hours of browsing the wiki and talking with friends were the tools I had at the moment. Before that knowledge was near meaningless, information I had sought out for enjoyment. Now it was the literal key to my survival.  
  
And the key to understanding the power I now possessed.  
  
I stared at my reflection in the water, the unfamiliar build staring back at me. Whatever had brought me into this world also had made me _of_ this world. The new feeling of magic, and the body of a wizard.  
  
_‘A wizard by Fairy Tail standards anyway.’_ Closing my eyes, I turned my focus inward and slowed down my breathing. _‘Magic is a physical and spiritual energy at its core. Ethernano is present in all living things, save for Edolas where it is viewed similarly to electricity.’_  
  
The feeling was present throughout my torso, but wasn’t so alien anymore. I noticed if I was using it or focusing on it, but felt normal if my attention was elsewhere. Another thing that had quickly become apparent is that while I didn’t always _feel_ the energy, I had a general idea about how much was available to me.  
  
_‘I don’t remember any exact measurement of magic power, aside from how strong a technique is.’_ My focus deepened, the feeling of ‘fullness’ becoming the center of my attention. _‘After unlocking it, I have about...sixty percent left? Yeah that sounds right. And I did just unlock it, so my reserves are probably fairly average...’_  
  
I could feel the well slowly filling back up, latent magic in the air returning Ethernano to my body at a gradual rate. Like filling an empty pool with a garden hose, was the best analogy I could come up with.  
  
_‘It’s not as fast as I’d hoped. If I were to do nothing until it all returned it might take a few hours.’_ I opened my eyes, locked on my own visage reflected in the lake. _‘But I don’t have that kind of time to spare, I need to figure this out and get control over it as soon as I can.’_  
  
Memories of Lost Magic surfaced, users of the magnificent but dangerous powers being destroyed by the very energy they called their own. The thought of not being able to control this energy terrified me; it was a double-edged sword I had to master. To use both edges without turning the blade onto myself.  
  
From what I knew, raw Ethernano was taken in by wizards and then converted into different forms in their body. It was moldable by the user, which was the whole reason many wizards were able to utilize multiple types at once. Though they had to learn how to convert it, and differentiate it from the magics they already knew.  
  
But what was _my_ magic?  
  
I turned things over in my mind as I looked at my hand. _‘When Erza unlocked her magic power during the escape from the Tower of Heaven, she used a specific type. Telekinesis if I remember correctly.’_ So, that meant each person with the capacity for magic had a type they were naturally inclined to, which they’d be able to use mostly by instinct. That fit what had happened with me.  
  
And I _had_ used a specific type, that was for sure. A wizard couldn’t just pull out raw Ethernano and fight with just that. Well, except for overloading themselves, like Natsu did at the Tower of Heaven years after Erza unlocked her power. And even that moment was brief, before he activated Dragonforce for the first time.  
  
But knowing I _had_ a specific type didn’t tell me _what_ specific type.  
  
I thought about when I had unlocked it, closing my eyes and turning my memory back. That was enough to start stirring up the same intense feelings I had right before the Vulcan crushed me. The desire to _live_ , the incredible amount of willpower I _never_ had before that suddenly flooded my entire being.  
  
The need to actually use this second chance at living.  
  
And my magic was all too eager to respond to my call.  
  
The dark behind my eyelids turned slightly blue, and opening my eyes revealed the same had happened to the rest of me. Even sitting still, I felt energy permeating every fiber of my being, my reflection in the water outlined by a fluctuating blue aura. Glancing at the trees and lake, the swaying of leaves and the ripples on the water had noticeably slowed. In my reflection, I could see the fluctuating aura around me.  
  
It was my first time seeing how it looked; each part of my body was encased in what looked like transparent blue flame. It reminded me of the aura around Super Saiyan Blue, minus the hairdo.  
  
_‘Doesn’t matter how it looks right now,’_ I reminded myself. _‘Need to figure out exactly what it is.’_  
  
My perceptions had been increased far above the norm, which I assumed was to compensate for the speed it granted me. But just that fact alone meant that the magic was something _more_. As I ran through the forest up here, I’d thought that I was probably going above highway speeds, but I hadn’t really internalised what that meant. Going that fast with no protection would have had my eyes tunnel and my own skin pressed up against my face from the sheer amount of wind.  
  
But I felt none of that. It should have been like sticking my head out of the car window on the highway, but I was perfectly fine. Either my magic compensated for that with natural protection, or I had something unique.  
  
_‘Some form of time manipulation?’_ I shook my head. _‘No, I would have felt like I was moving normally as the world around me slowed down. I could clearly feel my body, even just my legs, moving far faster than ever.’_  
  
I had to test it, but first I needed control.  
  
Only when I had caught sight of the lake was I able to turn it off, even if it had been unconscious. Now that I didn’t have a stranglehold on it and I had calmed down it was much easier to let go. The azure glow faded from my form, returning inside just as quickly as it came.  
  
A smile quickly found its way to my face; it felt just as natural as breathing. A quick mental command, not even a full thought, was all that I needed to bring it forth. The aura returned and faded like a slow strobe light, as I briefly practiced turning it off and on again.  
  
Simply calling it forth was easy, I didn’t need to think about it much for it to respond. But I needed _more_ than just that. I let it fade once more, then clambered to my feet and took a deep breath.  
  
As much focus as I could muster was thrown into my call this time. I thought of nothing other than pushing my magic as hard as it could go. Along with it I flexed every muscle I could, my whole body and mind both dedicated to commanding my magic.  
  
And it _roared_ in response.  
  
Light exploded from my form like it _never_ had before, an actual _shockwave_ scattering the rocks around me. The small flame that hugged my form had turned into a roaring bonfire of energy, its color shifting from pale cyan to a deep, royal blue. Around me, a fierce wind sent water and gravel flying, but I myself was untouched.  
  
Only one thing to do.  
  
I _blurred_ forwards, the ground beneath me giving way to my legs as I pushed off. I tore across the water, feeling it like a crash mat beneath my feet as my speed allowed me to treat liquid like a road. I hit the other side of the lake in an instant, my mind processing the information my eyes gave me faster than anything I had experienced before. I was moving just as fast mentally as I was physically.  
  
The instant before I hit the bank a brief thought ran through my head.  
  
_‘God I hope I don’t crash.’_  
  
When my right foot came down on the pebbles of the opposite bank, I could feel all of the momentum of the dash traveling into it. It should have broken; my bones should have _shattered_ from that much force hitting a limb that quickly.  
  
Instead, with the same strange instinct that had let me roll earlier in the day, I filled the limb with magic alongside the momentum, the energy responding with a flex of mind and muscle. All the impact’s force was taken by my _magic_ instead of my leg. It didn’t fade, it didn’t transfer into the ground; it followed along with my body, moving in tandem with the muscles. In the split-second of impact, all of that speed and momentum went where _I_ wanted it to go. I couldn’t explain it, didn’t have time to comprehend it.  
  
Because I shot off to the left just as fast as I had been moving before, turning on a fucking _dime_ as inertia also bowed to my command.  
  
GMy rooster tail of pebbles flew up in a veritable landslide as I circled the bank, my first problem rearing its head once more as I neared the starting point. Actually _stopping_ , instead of ramping up a hill and falling into a lake.  
  
_‘Momentum and Inertia move along with the magic, that’s the key.’_  
  
Once again my foot hit the ground, the same feeling returning. However this time, I threw more magic into my body, taking hold of the force along with it. In that brief instant both the mystical and physical were one and the same, and both of them were _mine_. I threw it all into the ground, immediately feeling my body come to a screeching halt. Magic and force were both expelled out of my body, transferred into the rocky bank beneath me.  
  
The ground _exploded_ under my foot, fractures spreading from the point of impact along with an eruption of pulverised rock. I ended up almost losing my balance as a crater formed, dropping me a couple of inches on the spot.  
  
My magic faded, returning me to my normal perceptions, and I gazed in awe at the lake, the water I displaced from dashing across just _now_ crashing back down to the surface. To the left, I saw the gravel and dust that had been thrown into the air raining back down on the bank. I had crossed and circled back around the lake in _seconds_.  
  
And I was fine. A little jarred from the foregin feelings, but otherwise uninjured.  
  
“Holy shit.”  
  
I was at a loss for words besides those two. Physics had just been literally broken in front of my own two eyes, and by myself no less.  
  
Implications and thoughts flew through my head, struggling to even believe that which I had done with my own hand – or in this case, foot. My worldview had been cracked the fuck open _three_ times today and it wasn’t even past midday. I didn’t know how much more I could handle at this point.  
  
I laughed. At the sheer absurdity of it all or at the fact that I was _enjoying_ it, I didn’t know. I just laughed until a simple conclusion surfaced, bringing a halt to the jumbled mess that was my train of thought.  
“I’m in a completely new world,” I said aloud like it was that simple or easy to really comprehend. “Earth’s rules don’t apply, or hell even its _physics._ I’m in Earth _land_ now, with its physics and laws.”  
  
Like the ground, I had just shattered the rules that governed my existence before. Anything was possible and I had to leave behind information I’d come to know as absolute fact.  
  
Out with the old, in with the new.  
  
My thoughts quickly returned to my current goal. The information I had just gained from that was nothing short of enlightening. Whatever my magic was it had several different effects. Control over my momentum and inertia, either negating or allowing me to ignore the negative effects of high speed movement, and essentially super speed.  
  
Efficient, powerful and absolutely fucking _dangerous_ if I wasn’t careful.  
  
If I hadn’t taken hold of the force with magic, if I didn’t have the superhuman perception and processing power to comprehend that in an _instant_ , I would have shattered my leg and probably snapped my spine on a tree.  
  
The revelation of how _close_ I was to killing myself with my magic smacked all of the enjoyment out of me. A single mistake at those speeds, hell even failing to correct my movement _once_ , would mean certain death.  
  
It was a sobering reality. The idea that magic was just as dangerous as it was fantastical didn’t hit home until now. I’d have to both survive everything this world threw at me and _myself_ at the same time.  
  
I pushed those thoughts aside. I still had things to test and the Vulcan wasn’t going to wait for me.  
  
I focused on my magic container, feeling the energy settle back down. That one burst had taken nearly _five percent_ of my total capacity to do. It didn’t make sense, I had run for at least an hour to get to the lake, and that was constant use for a long period of time. Forty percent of my total capacity went into that.  
  
I had to keep in mind, I basically had the magical reserves of a child. Sure, physically I was close to fully grown, but my magic had been unlocked today. As powerful as it was, I myself was an amateur at using it properly. Thoughts of ‘conserving’ and ‘restraint’ had never once entered my mind about it, the need to survive and base instinct overpowering that.  
  
I looked back at the lake, frowning. I felt like I hadn’t needed to move that fast to run on water. I could have done that with the same speed I got here with.  
  
Not that I knew exactly how much controlling my momentum, accelerating my perceptions and processing, and increasing the output drained. And I didn’t have the time to test those things extensively. I _wanted_ to test every option I had available with my magic, to run each aspect over and over again until I knew it unconsciously, but that would cost using the rest of my current supply and mean not being able to recharge anything significant before the Vulcan found me once more.  
  
I liked my odds better with amateurish skill and my container nearly full compared to expert skill but a container running on fumes.  
  
I shook my head, chasing away those thoughts. I had two more tests to do and no time to waste.  
  
Scooping a rock the size of my fist off the more rocky part of the banks, I tossed it in the air a few times. Satisfied with its weight, I threw it into the air and called my magic forth once more.  
  
This time the aura didn’t surround my form completely; instead I directed a small portion of magic to my head only. Energy infused my eyes and brain, the world once again tinting blue from my perspective. Whereas before I had flooded every part of my body with as much as I could give it, this time I used the minimal amount to achieve the effect.  
  
The sight that greeted me confirmed my suspicions.  
  
The rock I had tossed up reached the apex of the throw, gravity taking over and bringing it back down. But to my eyes, it was moving at a snail's pace. It would have plummeted down in seconds normally, and I knew that it actually _was_ moving at a normal speed.  
  
It was me who was perceiving and processing it much faster.  
  
I tried to move my arm to catch it, but quickly felt a strong disconnect from my mind and body. My brain was telling my body to move, and it was, but without the addition of magic it couldn’t keep up with how fast I told it to move.  
  
It was like the haze of a dream, where you are commanding your body to sprint away with all it’s worth, but it just refuses to move that quickly. It felt like there was something preventing my arm from moving as fast and it wasn’t something I could physically force.  
  
I tried, clenching my arm and swinging it towards the rock. It moved through the air in slow motion, along with everything else.  
  
My mind was in bullet-time, but my body wasn’t.  
  
I canceled the flow of magic, staggering a bit as my arm, which had seemed to go so slowly, finished its swing at peak natural speed and dragged my body along. Beside me, the rock hit the ground with a _thud_ , my attempt at catching it missing entirely.  
  
_‘I don’t know a thing about how the brain processes information,’_ I thought, picking up the stone once more. _‘My magic seems to compensate for that; rather than having to infuse magic into the exact parts that handle that, it provides the effect with nothing from me but bringing it where it needs to go.’_  
  
Whether that was a side effect or something it naturally did to compensate for super speed, I didn’t know. But it did bring me to another conclusion about the identity of my magic.  
  
It was accelerating.  
  
The processing of information, my own movement, hell even the speed at which I _think_ was being ramped up to eleven when my magic was active. When I dashed across the water, I went from basically no movement to max speed in an instant. And I knew vaguely that acceleration was tied to momentum and inertia, so that might explain why I could fuck with those too.  
  
Still, I had one final test.  
  
I looked down at the rock in my hand, drawing out my power once more. My right arm alone was encased in magic, the cyan wisps of energy licking the rock in my palm. I tried to move the limb slightly, but it jerked away much faster than I could control, nearly toppling me over before I regained my footing.  
  
“So I can’t really use one or the other,” I thought aloud. “They have to be in tandem. My mind can’t keep up with my body, and my body won’t respond to my mind correctly.”  
  
Though, being able to ramp up perceptions at a whim was very useful. Not for moving, but having a few extra seconds of thinking time would undoubtedly give me a huge advantage.  
  
I put those thoughts aside, instead focussing on what I wanted to do. The magic along my arm obeyed me and crept upward, surrounding the rock slowly. It took a lot of focus, infusing something that wasn’t myself with magic. Eventually, however, a stable aura surrounded the stone, even if it was about all I could focus on at once.  
  
Pulling back my arm like a baseball pitcher, I threw the rock at a nearby tree as hard as I could. It left my palm in a blur, disappearing from my vision for a brief moment before slamming into the truck with a loud _crack_ and a shower of bark and splinters.  
  
The stone had embedded itself halfway into the trunk, cratering the surrounding wood. I waited for a split second to see if it’d fall, but it stuck in there pretty damn good.  
  
_‘Well that confirms that my magic works on more things than just me.’_ I looked up towards the sky, noticing the sun was well on it’s way down towards setting. _‘Though the second it leaves my hand, it burns through magic damn near instantly.’_  
  
Not that it really mattered. If whatever I threw got enough speed to punch halfway into a _tree_ , it wasn’t really a problem if my magic stopped infusing it the instant it left my grip.  
  
But with that said, if I had surrounded myself as well as the stone…  
  
I looked around at the lake, my eyes scanning the banks. Rocks of various sizes and shapes were littered everywhere. There must have been hundreds of them similar to the one I just threw.  
  
My thoughts turned back to the oncoming confrontation. The Vulcan was most likely tracking my scent, and would probably arrive at sunset. I didn’t know how fast it could move, but after these tests I knew it wasn’t faster than me.  
  
My base instinct after unlocking my magic was to run. I was in an unknown life or death situation and had to make that choice with the information I had. All I knew was the sudden unlocking of power gave me the chance to escape.  
  
That instinct was returning as I thought about the Vulcan more. The sense of fight or flight that was overwhelmingly one sided before now presented me with a choice.  
  
Confront, or Escape.  
  
It’d be easy, too easy to escape it. I could spend the rest of the magic I had in my container and book it out of the forest, leaving that monster far behind me. But what after? What happens when I collapse from exhaustion, or run out of magic?  
  
I’m not a machine, I can’t keep going forever. Sometime I’ll have to sleep. I’ll have to eat. My stomach was already making its complaints known, I knew I’d have to find food sooner than later. And what then?  
  
It’d find me, and I wouldn’t be able to defend myself.  
  
So I’d fight. I had more than half my magic capacity still left, and the newfound weapon of information about it. I’d rather take my chances fighting than hope it won’t be able to get to me while I wasn’t able to defend myself.  
  
I had the advantage now. I knew it was coming, what it wanted, and a rough time frame of how long I had before it arrived.  
  
My gaze once more went to the rocky banks of the lake, and a sense of determination stronger than I had ever felt before settled into me.  
  
After all, this entire battleground had just become my weapon.  
  
  


-x-x-x-x-x-x-

  
  
  
  
Night fell with no sign of the Vulcan.  
  
I sat on one of the larger rocks next to the water, keeping a fair distance from the treeline. I had circled to the opposite side of the lake from the waterfall, putting as much distance as I could between me and where the steam was fed.  
  
The more time I had the better.  
  
Moonlight shone brightly in the large open air of the lake, setting the area surrounding the water aglow. The still surface was a great mirror, giving me more visibility than I could have hoped for. Despite that, darkness and shadow consumed the treeline, creating a black curtain that rustled disturbingly.  
  
Firelight danced in my eyes, accompanied by a sense of reassurance. With a quick application of magic, it was child's play to start one with nothing but dry sticks and logs. My clothes had long-since dried, and the warmth of the fire kept the cool night air at bay.  
  
I had managed to get some food in me, my stomach having ceased its protestation for the time being. When the lake wasn’t being disturbed by some goon running on water, the occupants had returned to scouring the shore. Fish of every color combination swam in tie-dyed schools around the banks. It was a simple matter of standing still and waiting for a decently sized one to get too curious.  
  
A quick burst of magic, and I had dinner.  
  
Tossing the bones into the water, I went down the mental timeline I had kept since testing. I had about fifty-five percent left after testing. Not counting the two small bursts I had done in the time between, I had been keeping a close watch on how quickly my magic power was being restored.  
  
About three hours had passed since testing, and I had recovered about a fourth of my total capacity. A little over eighty percent was what I had to work with, a far better alternative to exhausting my supply with extensive testing.  
  
If things went to shit, I still had the option of running.  
  
_‘If things go to shit I’m either dead or possessed.’_ Stoking the fire, I tried to keep the grim thoughts away. _‘Gotta keep my mind occupied. Thinking about it will send me down a spiral I can’t afford to be on right now.’_  
  
Failure _wasn’t_ an option.  
  
The fire had been reduced to coals over time. I had stopped grabbing wood a while ago, in favor of keeping my senses locked on the forest around me. A low hum of activity buzzed through the air, insects and birds being the main producers from what my ears told me. A crackling fire wasn’t what I needed right now.  
  
I tossed a stone in my hand. A good weight, decent shape, and about the size of a softball. It was useful for keeping my mind occupied, a meaningless pattern I could focus on while keeping my senses open.  
  
It came down into my palm with a quiet _thwap_ , the sound much louder to my ears than it should have been. Like the creaky floorboard that you barely notice when you walk over it during the day, but was nothing short of deafening when you were sneaking to the kitchen for a midnight snack.  
  
Silence was a great amplifier.  
  
And it was silence that had settled over the area, the buzz of forest nightlife having just faded. I didn’t have the luxury of animals tipping me off to it this time; instead, I had been listening intently since the sun had gone down. It was just about the only warning I was going to get.  
  
I stood up as my eyes darted across the treeline, a sense of finality setting into my mind. It was do or die now.  
  
Low thumps echoed through the forest, shattering the silence. The same rhythm that had been bouncing around in my head since earlier that day. Even if I was as prepared as I was going to get, I still felt the rush of hormones overcome my mind. A mess of emotions swirled into form as the rhythm of footsteps got louder and louder. I could just hear it over the sound of my own heartbeat.  
  
Fight or Flight was demanding that I make a choice.  
  
I chose violence.  
  
About ten meters from my position on the bank, a shadow tore itself free of the dark curtain, and as it stepped onto the bank the Vulcan was revealed by the moonlight. I’d forget just how massive the thing was; hunched over with its fists on the ground, I still only came up to _just_ below its pectorals. Fully standing up I’d be looking at the top of its stomach.  
  
Its face was set into a smug and sadistic grin. I could practically feel the **‘I told you so’** coming from the creature as it held up my hoodie, twirling it around on a finger.  
  
I planted my feet, standing my ground despite the overwhelming size difference. The Vulcan looked surprised, tilting its head to the side curiously.  
  
“What?” My tone was sharp. “Thought I’d run away at the sight of you?”  
  
Its head bobbed up and down in affirmation. I could see surprise etched onto its face, though it was overshadowed by the unrestrained cruelty and sadistic glee. White eyes stared at mine, swimming with both intelligence and an unrestrained wildness. Laughter erupted from its throat, a deep booming bellow that carried across the forest.  
  
Its hand came up to its neck, drawing a line across with its thumb.  
  
The world slowed to a crawl as magic and adrenaline-infused my mind. I watched as the Vulcan tossed my hoodie to the side, its whole body being slowly set into a stance. I was able to see everything. The contraction of its muscles as it hunched down ready to charge, the foam starting to come out the sides of its mouth, the confidence that it had _already won_.  
  
The mess of tangled emotions uncoiled in my head. Doubt, second-guessing, and anxiety were replaced by a haze of fiery rage. It thought I was going to be easy prey, assumed that I had accepted the inevitable, already decided that I had _given up_.  
  
Magic flooded through my body along with a burning rage directed at the Vulcan, amplified by my fight response.  
  
I was going to shatter that illusion.  
  
Cyan light cloaked my body as the Vulcan howled its battle cry, pushing off into the start of a charge.  
  
A burst of magic surrounded the stone in my hand as I wound back. Momentum traveled up from my feet, accelerating through the twisting of my torso and transferring into the rock as it disappeared at the apex of my pitch.  
  
The Vulcan’s foot hadn’t touched the ground before the blue streak slammed home in its stomach, the sheer force of impact doubling it over. It extended a hand to stop itself from face planting into the gravel, spittle flew from its mouth as it gasped for air, the former visage of cruelty and confidence shattered along with the rock. It looked down at its torso in shock, an ugly bruise already starting to form.  
  
A flash of blue was the only warning it got before I was on it again. White ash and hot coals, scooped from the fire with large, soaked leaves, flew from my hands into its eyes causing it to roar in anger as it frantically reached up to clear its vision.  
  
I whipped around in a streak of blue, snatching a rock from the ground as I pivoted around. Both my hands gripped the weapon, bringing it down right where its toes met its foot with a _crunch_.  
  
The Vulcan leaped up howling in pain, both feet leaving the ground for a brief instant. An extra burst of magic had me blurring towards the other leg, all of the momentum and force flowing up into my arms as I came to an immediate halt. I gripped the leg, hands barely fitting around its ankle as I threw all of the force into yanking as hard as I could muster.  
  
The Vulcan may have eclipsed my weight several times over, but that didn’t mean a damn thing if it was in the air.  
  
It hit the gravel hard, breath escaping its mouth from the impact. Limbs flailed around wildly in a desperate attempt to find their target. The tangled mess of swings forced me backwards; just one hit of those limbs could crush tree trunks. I tore past the fire, moving adjacent to the shore in a hazy blur of blue.  
  
Ramping up the flow of magic to my brain threw the world into a standstill, giving me all the time I needed. Foot slamming into the ground, I grabbed a handful of gravel just before the inertia took over.  
  
_‘Take hold, move with magic and muscle, then **accelerate!** ’_  
  
Cyan bled into deep blue as my aura exploded into a roaring flame. The force of the sudden stop that would have threatened to crush my legs reversed course, inertia and momentum turned to power and becoming an explosive launch. The velocity of the dash, multiplied to a new level with the flood of magic, had me instantly back to the Vulcan who had only just started to rise up.  
  
In the brief instant between seconds, I caught sight of its expression. Confusion, panic, mild fear and disbelief were etched into its face. I took satisfaction in how the roles were reversed. All of those emotions were my own this morning, brought on by the very creature that was now at my mercy.  
  
And I was fresh out.  
  
In a blinding flash of azure light I stopped _dead_ next to its head. More force and magic than I had ever felt before raced upwards through my body, all of it directed to a single point. My arm swung around in an arc, all of the energy both magical and physical infusing the handful of gravel.  
  
A sickening _crack_ resounded as the rocks left my palm. The projectiles impacted the Vulcan’s face like a shotgun blast, exploding against it as stone shards and dust. The sheer force slammed its head back into the ground as it _roared_ in pain.  
  
A quick burst of magic put distance between me and the downed creature, putting me next to the remains of my fire. Heavy breaths escaped from my mouth as I kept my eyes locked onto its form. The sequence of attacks had my heart pumping like a piston in my chest; I wasn’t used to expending that much energy that quickly.  
  
Magic quickly settled back into my container as I let go, the blue aura fading along with it. A quick mental check revealed that I had taken a big chunk out of my supply, roughly fifteen percent.  
  
_‘Holy shit I burn through that quickly.’_ My thoughts raced, eyes still locked on the Vulcan as it slowly rose. _‘Controlling inertia and momentum must be what’s used the most, considering it literally breaks physics.’_  
  
I had thrown all I had into that last attack, and the Vulcan was still moving. Whether it was sheer durability or my own lack of power and experience, it still was able to get back onto its feet. Though not without injury, thankfully.  
  
Its face looked like it had gone through a meat grinder, blood pouring out of numerous wounds that were scattered across the skin. The impact had broken its nose at an odd angle, holes had been punched through an ear resembling swiss cheese more than a body part. One eye remained shut, likely having been lost, the other blinking rapidly in horror as the Vulcan spat out a glob of blood and teeth into its hand.  
  
“Not so fucking funny now is it?!” I taunted, a grin stretching across my face. “Thought I was gonna roll over and let you possess me? Where’s that confidence you’d already won now, huh?!”  
  
A low growl was its response, animalistic rage replacing all else in its expression. The growl exploded into a roar, the Vulcan throwing its arms out and beating its chest in a clear challenge. The remaining eye glowed bright with hatred and fury, locked onto my already glowing form.  
  
Gravel was scooped up in rapid handfuls, pitched towards the giant form faster than a gatling gun. The area between the Vulcan and I became alight with hundreds of blue streaks, projectiles accelerated to their target at speeds untraceable by the eye.  
  
Flashes of blue tore the fur from its body, pebbles and stones shattering against arms brought up to guard its face. One would have been insignificant, but the storm of gravel forced the Vulcan to plant its feet as hundreds of projectiles found their mark. Fur flew off its form, specking the green hide with bare patches of skin.  
  
It wasn’t doing nearly as much damage as the blast to the face before, the lack of built-up force costing a lot of destructive power. I kept it up however, rapid pitches never slowing down for a second. The hailstorm was wearing it down, and sooner or later I’d have another opening. Between the throws, I could see the Vulcan tensing its entire body to weather the impact. Muscles that resembled cables of steel more than flesh coiled with incredible strength, stones shattering against the thick purple skin.  
  
Then, with a roar that shook the forest, it threw both arms above its head. Fists clenched hard enough to draw blood, the two massive limbs swung down towards the ground.  
  
Capitalizing on its lowered guard, I snatched a much larger rock from the ground. Magic flooded through my hands, the stone surrounded by a blazing aura as I wound back. It _tore_ away from my hand as I threw, blitzing through the air and slamming into the Vulcan’s chin with a sickening _crunch_.  
  
It didn’t even _flinch_.  
  
Either with pure willpower or sheer overwhelming _**rage**_ , it powered through the impact. Gigantic arms slammed into the ground, the earth fracturing from the blow. Cracks spread out like a giant spider web, a huge section of rock and stone heaving upwards.  
  
The floor beneath my feet rose, the section of ground between the Vulcan and I acting more like a seesaw than bedrock. I was flung up into the air, my view of the world being thrown into a spin as I flailed around. I didn’t have time to comprehend how much power was needed to do it, or the middle finger to physics the action gave.  
  
Magic left my control as I panicked, desperate to find any kind of foothold or purchase. My feet hit nothing but empty air as gravity took over, sending me back towards the destroyed ground. Energy flooded through my mind, eyes searching frantically for a place I could land without being skewered or crushed against the rock. My output ramped up in preparation to take hold of my inertia, hopefully negating the impact of the fall.  
  
Seconds before I hit the ground, a roar reached my ears.  
  
My eyes darted to the side, my entire field of view being filled by the charging Vulcan. The attack earlier had broken its chin, the elongated point bent at an odd angle. That did nothing to stop it from rearing back for a massive haymaker. Enhanced perceptions made me a prisoner in the moment, giving me just enough time to see a fist larger than my whole upper body fly towards me.  
  
It crashed into my body, pain exploding through my entire being. I lost the hold I had on my magic as agony consumed all other senses, the fleeting energy allowing me to hear the wet _crunch_ of my ribs fracturing.  
  
My body tore over the lake from the blow, twisting around like a ragdoll as I _skipped_ across the water to the opposite bank. The wind was knocked out of me along with a sputter of blood as I tumbled across the shore, coming to a halt a meter before the treeline.  
  
I screamed, hot tears flowing from my eyes as I made a desperate attempt to force air into my lungs. Each breath sent another wave of fiery pain through my veins, overshadowing everything else. The world around me became muted in the face of the agony. Never before had I felt something similar, breaking my leg as a kid didn’t even come close.  
  
Fractured? Broken? I couldn’t tell. Adrenaline did little to stop the pain, my body refusing to respond to my commands. I needed to get up, _now_.  
  
Another roar split the air, forcing me into motion.  
  
I threw myself to the side, barely avoiding the massive foot that stomped down a split second after. I tried and failed to call magic once more, unable to take hold of it through the red haze of pain. I struggled to rise, getting onto my hands and knees before the Vulcan struck again.  
  
A massive foot slammed home into my stomach, sending another wave of pain through my whole body. The blow lifted me into the air once more, throwing me across the shoreline. My stomach emptied as I threw up, splattering puke and blood across the gravel. I hit the ground hard, tumbling onto my back with another yell of pain.  
  
My vision of the night sky swam, hardly being able to process anything. The rhythmic thumping of heavy footfalls pounded through my head, signaling the Vulcan’s approach. My limbs refused to move this time, my body too concentrated on dealing with the pain. Adrenaline was working overtime trying to force me into motion, the pain slowly being dulled.  
  
Two hits. _Two fucking hits_ was all it took to put me down like this. The only reason I wasn’t a broken mess of flesh and bone was thanks to the change my body went through. And I was about to lose it.  
  
A massive foot pinned me to the ground sending another spike of pain through my system. My vision was filled with the towering form of the Vulcan standing over me, the former expression of rage having been replaced by a smug satisfaction.  
  
Laughter wheezed out from its broken teeth, assured in its victory. A sick grin spread across its face, a light forming in its raised palm.  
  
The magic circle that formed sent a cool spike of dread down my spine. That was the possession magic that Vulcans naturally could utilize. A flood of panic exploded through my body along with the realization, forcing me into motion. I could barely feel the pain as the Vulcan pressed down, all senses being overridden by the need to _get the fuck away._  
  
Magic finally responded to my call, buying me precious seconds. A handful of dust and gravel flew from my hand at the Vulcan’s eyes, briefly blinding it. Growling, it rubbed at its eyes, the magic circle fading. I screamed as the foot pinning me pressed even harder, barely able to hear the Vulcan’s cruel chuckle over my own cries.  
  
I slammed my fists into its foot, a desperate attempt to somehow get it off of me. I didn’t have nearly the momentum or strength to do any damage, even as my pinned form became alight with magic.  
  
The magic circle returned, signaling that I had seconds left before the end.  
  
Magic flooded into my mind buying me precious time to think of something, _anything_ that would help. Instinctual panic and desperation clouded my head, no solutions coming to mind through the jumbled mess. I didn’t even feel the pain anymore, so much adrenaline pumped through my body that I didn’t feel much else besides it.  
  
My eyes widened at the sudden realization. It was a dangerous, stupid, and irrational idea brought on by extreme stress. But I didn’t exactly have other options. Everything I had was thrown into my magic; every emotion, every muscle, every ounce of willpower I had left. The world around me faded, the only thing I perceived was the rush of hormones brought on by survival instinct. My entire body was dedicated to issuing a single command.  
  
**More.**  
  
And my magic _roared_ in response.  
  
Adrenaline flooded through my body, the steady stream exploding into a torrent as magic accelerated its production. More energy and strength than I had ever felt before raced through my system, muscles and veins bulging. All emotions were crushed beneath the tidal wave, conscious thought being left behind in favor of one goal. _Putting that fucking Vulcan **down**._  
  
My hand shot to the side, grabbing a jagged stone just as the Vulcans magic circle reached its full size. Faster than I had ever moved before, I _smashed_ the rock against the foot that had pinned me down. Blood splattered in my face as the impact ripped through the Vulcan’s big toe, tearing off the nail and breaking the digit inward.  
  
The pressure on me lifted, the Vulcan howling in pain as it jumped backwards clutching the ruined mess of its toes. I was on my feet in an instant, magic whipping around me like a wildfire. No thoughts, no plans; none of that mattered in favor of attacking until it was _dead_.  
  
The sound of the ground _cracking_ beneath my feet was the only warning the Vulcan got before I was on it again. A heavy stone found its way into my hands, body pivoting into a spin and accelerating the weight in a blur like a shot-put. With a wordless roar I barely realized as my own, I smashed the football sized rock into its knee.  
  
Flesh and bone gave way with a sickening wet _snap_. The jagged bone tore through its hide with a splash of blood, the leg giving way under its own weight. The Vulcan’s screams of agony reached a new crescendo, falling onto deaf ears as I tossed my weapon to the side.  
  
The creature dropped forward, arms flailing to halt the descent. My arms lashed out, taking hold of its broken chin. The angle it had broken in provided a handhold as I yanked downwards, momentum being transferred into the Vulcan itself along the way. I felt something _pop_ as I let go, the throw slamming its head into the gravel so hard it bounded.  
  
Its mouth was a bloody mess, the force dislocating its jaw. In an arc of blue, my foot slammed directly into its windpipe. The sheer strength and speed of the kick reversed its descent, sending its form backwards into the air.  
  
Launching myself towards the forest, I tore upwards through the air in a streak of blue. My feet slammed into a tree, using the trunk as a springboard. Momentum was reflected and accelerated as I pushed off, sending me back towards the lake in an invisible blur of motion trailed in blue. Flipping around mid-air, I was instantly back at the airborne Vulcan.  
  
Both feet slammed into the side of its head in a barely subsonic dropkick, all of my momentum transferred into the point of impact. Magic flooded from me into the Vulcan, its body surrounded by the same blue glow. A resounding _crack_ split the air as its hulking form was blasted across the lake, accelerated even faster by my magic. The flailing creature hit the opposite shore in seconds, its body bouncing across the rocks in a tangled mess of limbs.  
  
I dropped from the air faster than I should have, even gravity’s pull accelerated, and the impact became my launchpad. The second I touched the ground I was off, tearing around the lake as fast as I could go. My form disappeared from view as magic accelerated me faster and faster, container working overtime to meet my demand. The deep blue aura erupted around me, lighting up the entire lake in a bright flash. Everything faded from my eyes as my vision tunneled to a single point.  
  
The Vulcan was slowly rising from the ground, its form covered in injuries and blood. Its bulk wasn’t doing it any favors as it struggled to lift itself. It got onto its one good knee, giant arms beginning to push itself upward.  
  
I slammed into its torso, shoulder-checking it with all the force of a bullet train. Its chest caved inwards from the blow, sternum and ribs audibly breaking from the sheer force. The Vulcan was once again blasted away from the transfer of momentum, crashing head over heels across the ground.  
  
A quick mental check revealed I had less than a fourth of my total magic power left, and it was draining _quick_. I grabbed another stone just about the size of a shoe, one of the edges chipped into a jagged point.  
  
With an explosive launch I blurred back the way I came, reaching the point where the lake fed into the waterfall in a second. My foot slammed into the ground, magic grabbing all of my inertia in a stranglehold. In the brief instant of stillness, I grit my teeth and pushed the energy harder than I ever had before.  
  
It flooded forth, accelerating all of that momentum even further. The ground exploded from the force of my launch, sending me sailing across the lake directly towards the Vulcan who had just come to a stop.  
  
It was on its back, broken and bloody form struggling to even move. Its remaining eye widened as I damn near _teleported_ into view, arm desperately lashing out towards me in a last ditch effort.  
  
It didn’t even come _close_.  
  
All the built up speed raced through my body, force accelerated even further as I poured all of the magic I had into my limbs. I gripped my makeshift weapon with both hands, the jagged stone swinging down onto its neck like a guillotine. A wordless roar exploded from my mouth, the ground beneath the Vulcan fracturing from impact as the stone tore _through_ it.  
  
It wasn’t getting up after that.  
  
I backed up, magic fading into me as the adrenaline fueled haze stopped along with it. The mental tunnel vision ceased as well; and my full awareness returned. I dropped down to a knee, wave after wave of pain and exhaustion assaulting my body. My legs burned like fire, never having been exerted to this extent before. Rapid deep breaths racked my chest with waves of pain, lungs demanding air and my ribs screaming in protest.  
  
I forced my head up, and saw just what I had done.  
  
It was a grisly sight. My mind simply refused to process the sheer brutality I had inflicted on the Vulcan. There was no sense of victory, none of the satisfaction I had experienced when I wiped the smug look off its face found me now.  
  
I stared at the broken, headless body with empty eyes. Only the fact that I had _survived_ gave me any sort of comfort. I had barely managed to turn the fight around by the skin of my teeth, forced to bet my life on a last ditch effort that I didn’t even know would work.  
  
That’s when the nausea hit.  
  
My stomach emptied itself again, my body racked with trembling, fatigue and a sense of weakness. Pain spiked through my head, coming up as mostly blood, accompanied by such a powerful dizziness that I struggled to hold myself up. I tried to suck in breaths between dry heaving, consciousness starting to fade.  
  
Through my swimming and quickly darkening vision, I saw a light peak through the treeline. It was bright, blindingly so. I forced my head up towards the source, the light was similar to firelight in the way it flickered through the trees, casting wild shadows through the forest.  
  
I caught sight of a figure stepping onto the banks, the light emanating from their hand. I couldn’t make out any details, my vision rapidly darkening into a single point. I hadn’t the energy or strength left to stop myself from dropping, consciousness finally leaving me as the world went black.  
  
  


-x-x-x-x-x-x-

  
  
  
  
Waking back up was _not_ a pleasant experience. My body felt sick and half-dead, like the worst hangover ever was pounding like a drum in my head. It felt like I had gone on an all day drinking spree and decided to pick a fight with Mike Tyson.  
  
A groan escaped my lips before I could force it down, eyes struggling to remain open from the bright morning sun. I attempted to move, only to be met with another wave of pain that knocked me back on my ass.  
  
“Woah there buddy,” a foreign voice said. “You’re pretty banged up there, just chill out for now.”  
  
I opened my mouth to respond but words refused to come out. An overwhelming dryness in my throat sent me into a coughing fit. A shadow blocked my view of the sun as whoever spoke stepped over me, offering some kind of canteen.  
  
Snatching it out of their hands, I greedily gulped down the water, draining the canteen in seconds. I let out a breath, the cool liquid chasing away the parched feeling. My eyes started to adjust to the light, the figure slowly becoming clear.  
  
Black and white hair hung across their face, the majority being pulled back into a top-knot. Three horizontal bars marked his face, passing across the ridge of his nose and separating under his eyes. Whether it was paint or a tattoo I didn’t know. His outfit immediately made me think of a ninja, a red and orange gi with black pants and belt. Prominent red fur surrounded the collar, wrapping around his shoulders. His arms were covered in a woven fishnet, and one was extended out to me.  
  
I gripped the offered hand, being quickly pulled to my feet. Words refused to form as I just started dumbly at him, mouth opening and closing in an attempt to say something, _anything_.  
  
I was shocked into silence. Because I _recognized_ him.  
  
“There we go.” He grinned at me. “Almost thought you had dropped dead when I got here last night, I patched you up the best I could but I only had some gauze on me.”  
  
I looked down, noticing my torso was wrapped in a patchwork of bandage and cloth. My ribs still throbbed with pain, but thankfully they weren’t broken, even if each and every one was at the very least fractured. I winced in pain as iI took a look over my shoulder, noticing my back was covered in the same patchwork. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a significant portion was stained with red.  
  
“Yeah, your back was pretty torn up too.” He stepped back, shaking his head. “You’re lucky I got to you when I did, might’ve not made it through the night.”  
  
I looked around the bank, noticing the absence of the Vulcans body. “Where—?”  
  
“—Did the Vulcan go?” he finished, giving me a cheeky grin. “Most magical creatures will dissipate after a while… Ethernano returning back to nature and all that.”  
  
My mind raced for a name, coming up short no matter how deep I dug. It was on the tip of my tongue.  
  
“Anyway, you actually did me a favor. Was on a mission to get rid of that particular Vulcan, it’s been scaring away all the animals and some hunters wanted it gone.” He flashed me a thumbs up. “Ain’t often you get a free payday in Phantom Lord.”  
  
_‘Phantom Lord, S-Class, Element Four.’_ My memory was instantly jogged, his name quickly coming to my mind.  
  
“Name’s Totomaru.” His hands went to his hips, fixing me with an expedient look.  
  
That snapped my attention back. I forced my train of thought to a halt, I could unpack that particular revelation later.  
  
“Daniel, Daniel Redmond,” I said, extending a hand. “Call me Dan.”  
  
Totomaru smiled, giving me a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you Dan. Now you want to tell me how you got into a deathmatch with a Vulcan?”  
  
_‘Oh boy. This is gonna be a fun conversation.’_  
  
Huh; whaddya know. At least my sarcasm was intact.


End file.
